Cisco Ethernet Switches vs MikroTik Routers and Switches

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco is a name well known in the IT field. The technology is tried and true and they have built a reputation on a solid platform. Though many people do not like the cost of the devices and the continued fees associated with long term ownership, you get what you pay for. I dont hesitate to recommend Cisco because I know people will get a solid product that will last a long time.

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Dean Aceto II

Senior Infrastructure Administrator

Merz North AmericaMedical Devices, 501-1000 employees

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MikroTik is suited for large companies that require advanced distributions in terms of contracted bandwidth, and in the same way, allows a single device to specify filtering and firewall rules without acquiring an additional device. There is a range for small companies which is more economical and less robust, but in case it's not necessary, such a strict control over the data consumption of the company is not a feasible solution.

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Carlos Alberto Pedron Espinett

Especialista de Desarrollo

ARCA International GroupBanking, 201-500 employees

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Pros

Easy setup and configuration. While the web UI has its quirks, setting up VLANs and other tasks which can be exceedingly complicated on other switches, are much easier on Cisco SG switches. You also have the ability to upload an existing configuration to switches, which can speed up the task of deploying many identical switches.
Features for the price. Getting a 48 port L3 switch with PoE+ for less than $2,000 is a great value.
Reliability. We have hundreds of the SG switches in dozens of client sites, many in harsh conditions, and they just keep going.

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Patrick Plaisance

CTO (Chief Technical Officer)

Pachyderm ConsultingInformation Technology and Services, 1-10 employees

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Affordable, it has more features compared to other brand at the same price.
Widely available, by today it's easy to obtained one, even online retailers sell it.
Highly customizable, you may write a powerful script to enhance the function.
Flexible, you can make different configuration approach based on you needs.

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Alex Anwar

Aerospace IT Specialist

CommunicAVIA Pte LtdAirlines/Aviation, 1-10 employees

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Cons

The web UI has taken a turn for the worse with the latest firmware on the SGx50 models -- the bifurcation between basic and advanced modes and the changes to the way VLANs are modified is a step backward in my opinion.
The power bricks on smaller models are enormous. I'm sure, however, keeping this circuitry external to the switch is what keeps my switches running year after year in hot environments.
Fans can be a bit loud on larger switches -- this is true of pretty much any 1U device though.

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Patrick Plaisance

CTO (Chief Technical Officer)

Pachyderm ConsultingInformation Technology and Services, 1-10 employees

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Administration dashboard
BGP in Multiple Core

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Tanner Moreno

Gerente

OvnicomTelecommunications, 51-200 employees

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Likelihood to Renew

Cisco Ethernet Switches 9.0

Based on 1 answer

for their relialiabilty

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Paolo Della Mea

Network Build Leader

GEChemicals, 10,001+ employees

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No score

No answers yet

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Usability

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

MikroTik Routers and Switches 9.0

Based on 1 answer

Almost perfect, despite some issue that need to be addressed by the manufacturer. If this issue has been addressed, a full 10 mark will be given.

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Alex Anwar

Aerospace IT Specialist

CommunicAVIA Pte LtdAirlines/Aviation, 1-10 employees

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Support Rating

No score

No answers yet

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MikroTik Routers and Switches 5.1

Based on 3 answers

There is no SOC, NOC, where you can contact to try to resolve any difficulties. The problems that these devices have are solved largely through the community, with workaround alternatives, or if the support team responds to a request, the response times are too high for the current needs of technological communications.

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Tanner Moreno

Gerente

OvnicomTelecommunications, 51-200 employees

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Alternatives Considered

Cisco is more enterprise level, more reliable, and generally more feature rich but also very expensive. That being said old or refurbished Cisco switches are much more affordable and in comparison to even new switches from the competitor they are still a great value even though they are used. I like Ubiquiti switches as well but Cisco is usually better overall.

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Verified User

Technician in Information Technology

Education Management Company, 201-500 employees

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I am managing lots of different networks for our customers, and the Sophos firewall has been causing me a lot of frustration lately. For every feature, there is another license you need to buy. Not as reliable as the MikroTik routers, too many updates or just service stops.Netgear is as inexpensive at MikroTik, but not reliable and not as performant.Cisco products are expensive compared to MikroTik, but as reliable.

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Adrian Takacs

Infrastructure Engineer

X-Net SolutionsInformation Technology and Services, 1-10 employees

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Return on Investment

Failure on Cisco Switches, from my experience, is rare in the first 5 years the device is up.
I have see the Cisco 6500 switches go 5 years without a reboot, which is nothing short of amazing.
The service that you get is top notch and available 24/7, and you really cannot put a price on that.

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Michael Timms

Network Administrator II

iQorTelecommunications, 10,001+ employees

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First of all it's cheaper than Cisco routers.
It has more functionality than Cisco routers that cost 4 times more.
It has a GUI. But it has CLI too.

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Marcin Chabowski

Teacher

Zespół Szkół Elektronicznych in BydgoszczPrimary/Secondary Education, 51-200 employees

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Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

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Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Entry-level set up fee?

No

General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No